New Hanover Fire Company slates 70s-80 night fund-raiser

Break out your Spandex tops and flared trousers. ABBA and the BeeGees want to see you this Saturday (March 23) at the New Hanover Fire Company for the fire company’s eighth annual 70s-80s dance fund-raiser.

The dance will be held in the engine room from 8 p.m. to Midnight at the station house at 2154 Swamp Pike Road in New Hanover.

The event is the brainchild of Marie Coakley and Brenda Vorce, co-chair and social members of the New Hanover FC, who came up with the dance idea eight years ago while kicking around ideas for fund raisers. They suggested it to the company membership and the idea immediately took hold.

On Saturday, a DJ will be spinning records of Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Kiss, Michael Jackson and, of course, ABBA and the BeeGees. “People will be swinging, swaying and bopping around to the music,” stated Coakley. “In that era, music was danceable and diversified. You could understand the lyrics and just enjoy the music. Saturday’s festivities will be a stroll down memory lane. People will connect with the music and relate an experience to a particular song or group.

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“This,” she said, “has become one of our most popular and talked-about fund raisers. People have come up to me and inquired when our next 70s-80s dance will take place. When we first started, 100 people attended. Now we have 200 and it’s always a sell-out.” Coakley has noticed that the dance has attracted younger people, those in their 20s, who have “absorbed” this kind of music from their parents.

The firehouse is the ideal location for the dance, Vorce commented. “It’s a place where members of the community can come together and see their neighbors. It’s also an opportunity for them to get to know the volunteers firefighters and, possibly, even get interested in volunteering with the company.”

Tickets for the event cost $10, which must be purchased and picked up in advance, Admission includes trivia games and refreshments. For information, call 610-327-2655 or 610-718-5420.